This invention relates to bed pads for filling any gaps in hospital or nursing home beds. My bed pads may be referred to as gapless bed pads or zero gap bed pads. The most typical gap exists between side rails and the mattress of a long term care bed.
Hospital beds traditionally had some type of collapsible side rail on each side of the mattress, so that a patient on the bed cannot inadvertently roll off of the bed and receive serious injuries from a fall to the floor. Padded covers, bumper wedges and the like also are used with the bed-rails to improve the comfort and safety of patients in long-term care facilities. Despite these improved configurations, a rather large gap still exists between the rails, pads, headboard, footboard and the bed mattress. The gap is even more pronounced when the bed is in an articulated or elevated position. The long term care industry refers to this as xe2x80x9cthe 1 inch gap issuexe2x80x9d. Any gap of more than one inch associated with raised bed rails is unacceptable. Consequently, a need remains for improvement in the safety of these devices.
I have invented a padded gap protector that provides zero clearance no matter what the articulated position of the bed is. The pad remains in compression with the mattress and closes the gap between the mattress and side rails. The pad provides a zero gap when the mattress is in a horizontal position and when the mattress is secured in an articulate position such as an elevated position. Straps secure the pad to the bed frame below the mattress to maintain compression and an V-shaped section of soft material maintains the zero gap when the mattress is in an articulated position. Another set of straps secure the top of the pad to the bed rail. With foot pads, this invention provides 360xc2x0 zero gap protection.
The pad""s zero gap clearance reduces the risk of xe2x80x9cpoke-throughxe2x80x9d, that is, a limb or digit being caught between the mattress and the pad, rail to rail, rail to headboard or rail to footboard. The pad is soft, well padded, nonabrasive, cleanable, and moisture resistant. The pad does not impede rapid lowering of bed-rails. The pad is quickly and easily attachable and detachable and does not impede charging sheets or providing medical attention.
The pad is for use with a bed having a mattress and bed rails. The pad includes a cover defining an interior space formed of a material the material being flexible, non-abrasive and substantially resistant to penetration by an appendage of a person. A top attachment means secures a top section of the cover to the top rail of the bed rails and a bottom attachment means secures a bottom section of the cover to a bed frame beneath the mattress. A foam material fills the interior space defined by the cover wherein the foam material has a high density. The higher density foam material further defines at least one V-shaped cavity pointing downwardly towards the bottom section of the cover. A lower density foam fills the V-shaped cavity. The bottom surface of the cover is positioned adjacent a top surface of the mattress to provide zero clearance between the mattress and side rails.